Decoder installed in Athearn Genesis SD 70ace, thanks to Mark R. I have the decoder wired correctly. I am unable to get the ditch lights to flash alternately. I installed a wire from each ditch light to each pad ( labelled green, brown, etc).
forward and rear head lights work ok.
i know each bulb works, I can get rear ditch lights to come on and flash alternating but I can only get one front ditch light to come on with function 3 and the other to come on with function 4. I can not get them to flash at all.
i have tried reprogramming CV 51 And 52 and cv 35 and 36 but I have since done a factory reset. If anyone is able to point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.
I found the decoder manual of little help and an online TCS manual not much clearer, various online searches all seem to conflict.
Martin.
See if this thread helps.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/83870.aspx
Here is a quick reference sheet for the settings.
https://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Literature/Decoders/HO_Scale/A-Series/A6Xweb.pdf
Hope this helps, but maybe not.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hmmm. A long time ago, I put an A6X into a then-current but non-DCC ready SD70. Haven't had it on the layout for a while, but IIRC the front ditch lights were each turned on by a separate function and flashed for a period of time when you hit F2.
I don't recall what CV's I set, or their values. Actually, I probably never actually knew because I just used DecoderPro to set it up. But the good thing is, I can export that CV list and post it here if you think that'll help.
SO you have the front ditch lights on brown and pink, if they operate on F3 and F4 at otherwise default settings. You need to set CV53 and 54 to control those wires. 51 and 52 are for the green and violet wires, the instruction sheet is pretty clear about which CV goes with which function output. One CV needs to be 10 and the other 11 to have alternating ditch lights when moving forward, or 42 and 43 for them to operate regardless of direction. Rear ditch lights would be 26 and 27 to operate in reverse only.
Most people find the TCS instruction sheets pretty clear. The example given in the instructions is for forward ditch lights on green and violet. Since you are putting the ditch lights on brown and pink, the CVs to remap these to a different F key are 39 and 40, not 35 and 36. Not sure how you are getting the wrong CVs, the chart is pretty specific as you read across, CV39, default value 16, Brown Wire.
There is only 1 'ditch light' controller int he decoders, so the blink for both the front and rear ditch lights will be controlled by the same F key. If you set CV39 and CV40 both to 16, the ditch lights will come on with F3, and if you previously set CV124 to 8 (the default) and the rear ditch lights blink on F2, then the fronts will also blink on F2.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I really appreciate all the replies, when I get time this evening I will try programing it again.
I find the reference to the colors odd, I read the directions and each pad has a color reference yet all the wires coming out of the four ditch lights and front and rear headlights are all black. So I just started hooking up a light to each pad.
I did manage to get the rear ditch lights working and flash alternately but now I can't remember how. both rear ditch lights come on together with F3 and one of the front ditch lights too, F4 turns on the other front ditch light. Doesn't seem right.
Thanks again everyone, I will let you know how this goes.
Martin
basementdweller I find the reference to the colors odd, I read the directions and each pad has a color reference yet all the wires coming out of the four ditch lights and front and rear headlights are all black. So I just started hooking up a light to each pad.
Ok I will double check my wiring and get the wires on the correct pads. Thanks.
basementdweller Ok I will double check my wiring and get the wires on the correct pads. Thanks.
I suspect you have the rear ditch lights hooked to the F1 and F2 outputs, that would be green and violet. If you followed the instruction sheet for ditch lights, that would make those two lights alternating ditch lights that turn on with the F1 key and flash with the F2 key.
Ok just getting ready to tackle this project again. Although all the wires were black I did separate them into the correct pairs for each light. Rereading the instruction manual that came with this decoder it makes no reference to which pad should go to which light.
How else do I say this? Nothing says F1 to RF ditch light, F2 to LF ditch light and so on. If there is a reference addressing this then I am missing it, hence why I found the manual not clear at all. Anyway time to get to it.
again thanks for all replies.
The manual references the wire colors, because that is the only thing that ever remains unchanged. The defaults are that F1 controls the green adb F2 the violet wire, but all F keys can be remapped as far as what wire they control, so the references to the CV to set the effect value is done by wire color.
Page 1 of the document found by clicking Literature for the A6X on this page: http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Products/Decoders/HO-Scale/A-Series/A-Series.htm
shows which pads should go to which lights. With the wire colors called out. This is the same sheet that should have come with your decoder. Then on the second page, in the "Lighting Control" box it says which CV is used for setting the effect for which wire color. There's a box labeled "Light Function Wires" which lists the CVs, the big table to the right of that is all the possible values for any of those CVs.
Everythign else is covered in the "Compreghensive Programming Guide" found on this page: http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Literature/Literature.htm
Thanks Randy. The link for the comprehensive programing guide was very interesting.
i put the correct wires on the correct tabs just to simplify programing ( for me anyway) I now have front ditch lights come on with F1 and flash with F2.
One rear ditch light comes on with F3 and the other rear ditch light come on with F4, I can not get them to flash.
I done this project for a friend and he is delighted with it. I am curious where I am missing reading the CV # and value to flash the rear ditch lights.
Go back up to my first post, I have the CV39 and CV40 values to make the F3 and F4 wires both the same F key (F3), and the CVs to put ditch light effects on those two wires.
There is only one "ditch light generator" in the TCS decoders, so they should flash on F2. F1: turn on front ditch lghts, F2 flash them. F3: turn on rear ditch lights, F2, flash them.
Alternate would be to change the CVs for the effect so the ones in the green abd violet are forward direction ditch lights only, and the ones for the other two are reverse direction only. Use the function remapping to make what are now F3 and F4 ALSO F1 (value 4 I think, without looking it back up). Now when you hit F1, either the front or rear ditch lights will come on, depending on which way the loco is going, and F2 will make them flash. That CV39 and CV40 to 4, and then use the lighting table in the 2 pager to set the green and violet to forward direction ditch lights (one value for the left one, other for the right one). In that same chart are values for reverse direction ditch lights. Those two values go in CV43 and CV54 for the rear ditch lights.